Don Juan, << don JOO uhn or, in Spanish, dohn HWAHN, >> is the hero of one of the most famous legends in literature. The legend originated in Europe during the Middle Ages. Its form became established in The Trickster of Seville (1630), a play by the Spanish author Tirso de Molina. In this work, the handsome nobleman Don Juan Tenorio seduces many women. But when he tries to seduce the daughter of the knight commander Don Gonzalo, Don Gonzalo challenges him to a duel. Don Gonzalo is killed by the hero. Don Juan visits the commander’s tomb and scornfully invites the statue of his victim to dinner. The statue appears at the feast and returns the invitation, which Don Juan accepts. In the graveyard, the statue takes Don Juan’s hand and drags him down into hell as apt punishment for his crimes against God and society.
The complex personality of Don Juan has fascinated writers and composers for hundreds of years. He has appeared in plays by Moliere and George Bernard Shaw, an opera by Mozart, and a poem by Lord Byron. Jose Zorrilla’s Don Juan Tenorio (1844) is the most popular treatment of the theme in modern Spanish literature. Each interprets Don Juan’s personality differently.
